Jewel of Memory
by L. Dakforest
Summary: Originaly the prologue to a longer fic, this piece is now a oneshot:: Sesshomaru, roused from his slumber, looks on at his 'pack,' bedded down for the night, and remembers his Father's Precious Jewel.


I do not own Inuyasha. I am but a poor college student.

**Jewel of Memory**

By

Leilith Dakforest

Thick smoke hovered, laden in the air, like dark hands reaching though nose and mouth to steal the breath of life. Black clouds rose up to meet the blood red sky. Orange sparks, like souls, drift up only to extinguish. His sensitive ears were made deaf by the screams of the dead and their blood blotted out all scent of earth and wind. Through it all, the dog demon ran, dodging his way through the forest, seeking prey.

A sudden, heavy weight crashed into his back; a sharp, piercing pain in his side reaching for his heart. A howling snarl erupted from his throat, and even as he turned to snatch the foolish demon in his teeth, another emerged from the brush, biting deep into the dog demon's neck. He could see the rest now as well, all aiming to deliver the fatal blow.

He threw them off and aimed his newly poisoned claws at their flesh. One went down, screaming, but others were more fortunate, and the pup was not. Their blades pierced his flesh. One even threw his blade at the dog demon's claws, coating it in his own poison before thrusting it deep into his neck.

The pain was unbearable, and the young dog demon lifted his head in a mighty howl of pain before trying to flee. Too late, he was already snared. His growing limbs tripped over a protruding root. The dog demon went down, weakened and in agony. Unable to expend the necessary energy, he slipped from his dog form and revealed himself as the child he was.

And the adolescent Sesshomaru looked up into the lead demon's eyes as it raised its blade for the final blow. His own poisoned blood pooled around him. The manic glint of victory had taken the leader's face an instant before a pearlescent blade erupted from his chest, pulsing. Startled, the demon could only stare at the sword, then his own hands as they withered before him. It was over in seconds, and it did not even have the intellect to scream before it was reduced to something less than dust.

He saw her there, silhouetted behind the haze. He watched, relief crashing over him, as she stood over his injured form, her white hair flying in the battle wind, her amber eyes now scarlet with her rage. The demon marks on her skin stood out, vivid in the smoky haze. She lifted her sword high, and with a slash, released a controlled wave of power. The demons had not time to blink before were severed. The rest fled or attacked, but all met their doom at her terrible hands. Soon, only one whimpering fool remained, exactly where he had been when she appeared.

Her sword no longer gleamed as before, having expended the excess demonic energy. Instead she raised her right hand and spoke, her deep sultry voice echoing through the forest, though there was no force to drive it. Claws flexed, she slashed at the cowing demon that had dared ambush him. The last thing the pup saw were her white energy blades hurtling over his head.

"Iron Reaper Soul Stealer."

Sesshomaru jerked slightly, his eyes instinctively scanning as he returned to full wakefulness. The movement was slight at best, a mild start even to the canniest observer, yet so dramatic to any whom knew the Demon Lord. Jaken's murmuring snores broke the still night song. The woman-child, Rin, lay curled by the fire, her blanket wrapped tightly around her slight form. She shivered faintly against in the chill of the dying flame. Reoriented, Sesshomaru breathed and rose to his feet, stopping to look over his companions. An odd, almost fond expression tinted his features as he gazed at one, then the other before dropping another log into the dying fire. Satisfied, he turned toward the rise of the cliff, and left the two to dream beneath the rising sparks of flame.

He stopped at the plateau, the chill night breeze lifting his hair from his shoulders. His empty sleeve shifted at his side. Odd… After all this time, he could still almost feel the fabric brush against the lingering phantom of his arm. He looked out over the vast, virgin landscape, but knew it would not tell that which he sought, nor did its virtue hold his gaze. He was drawn, instead, to the full, vibrant moon high overhead. The faintest tint of sorrow pulled at his eyes and mouth.

'She will be at her full glory tonight,' he thought, 'Beautiful, elegant, sensual: a true demon princess, worthy of the Dog Demon Clan. I wonder where she is now.'

"Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin's quiet voice drifted up behind him. He smiled, though she couldn't see. She never did sleep well when he wasn't near. She almost seemed to have a sense for his presence.

"Rin, you should be resting. We journey again tomorrow."

"Yes, My Lord. I was just… There's nothing wrong, is there, My Lord."

"There is nothing. Go to sleep."

"All right." She turned to leave, but her eyes caught the line of his gaze and she followed it. "Wow. The moon is so pretty tonight."

"Yes. It always is, the nights when She shines brightest."

"She, My Lord?" Sesshomaru sighed faintly, almost reminiscently.

"My sister, Rin. She cycles like the moon. She will be at her most brilliant this night."

"I didn't know you had a sister." The adolescent turned back to her demon lord, "What's she like? Is she like you, My Lord, or like the half-breed Inuyasha?"

He actually chuckled at that, a sound that raked over the woman-child's skin, yet was somehow soothing and made her smile. "No. Oddly, she resembles our father far more than either that half breed or I. Father… how he had loved her so, his precious jewel." There was not an ounce of envy or resentment in the demon lord's voice, but a quite smile meant only for his charge to hear.

"Sleep now, Rin. We leave at dawn."

The twelve year old bowed deeply, a smile on her rosy cheeks. "Yes, My Lord. Good night."


End file.
